


The World in the Palm of My Hands

by MegaWallflower



Series: Smile for the Camera [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Flirting, Introspection, M/M, Photography, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-10-16 23:34:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20611214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegaWallflower/pseuds/MegaWallflower
Summary: Sukea still finds it amazing how his entire world can fit within the perimeters of his camera. Guy thinks it’s pretty amazing, too.





	The World in the Palm of My Hands

Sukea snuck around the corner, camera in hand. He lined up the shot as a smile ghosted his lips.

It hadn’t been difficult to find his target.

The Green Beast of Konoha: Might Guy.

The swing Guy was standing on creaked beneath his feet, rocking back and forth with his shifting weight as he pushed the swing into gentle motion. He didn't look in Sukea’s direction, or at least not right away. Instead, his face was tipped up toward the sky, illuminated by the warm glow of sunlight, highlighting the point of his nose and the fan of his lashes. It softened the lines of his face, making him look almost ethereal. The effect was only emphasized by the silky black hair spilling into his face.

The scene itself was nothing special. Even as a kid, Guy liked playing on the swings, anything to keep moving and burn his boundless energy. He’d get it swinging as fast and as high as he could with just his legs, jump off, fail the landing, and roll until he crash-landed into the nearest tree.

_Beat that, Rival!!_ He’d declare, jumping up with a bloody nose and a sparkling grin.

(And he did, of course. That point went to Kakashi, easily.)

It was an average sight on an average morning. But that’s why it was perfect.

Sukea still found it amazing how his entire world could fit within the perimeters of his camera. Everything in Kakashi’s life always managed to slip away, but the photographs remained, painful and pleasant reminders.

He’d want to remember Guy, too, everything about him, even the little things like this. Especially the little things like this. The least Sukea could do was capture the moments that Kakashi would want to remember later, when his friend went to the other side of the Eighth Gate.

One day, he wouldn’t even have a body or a proper grave to remember Guy, but he would have this.

Just as Sukea snapped the photo, Guy looked over at him with an obnoxiously silly face, eyes squeezed shut, tongue poking out, cheeks ballooned and red. Sukea had definitely caught _that_ in the picture.

Shoot, Guy was already on his guard. Sukea really couldn’t underestimate him.

"What have you got there, Sukea?" Guy called, waving him over.

Guy was probably just out to make things more difficult for him, but his expression remained steely, interested even.

Sukea bit back a sarcastic remark as Guy straightened up and inspected the photographer, narrowing his eyes inquisitively. Sukea’s mouth pressed into a thin line, no hint of a smirk to be found. He probably couldn’t get away with the same mocking back-and-forth with Guy that Kakashi could. To show he was no threat, Sukea adjusted the placement of the pink scarf around his neck and revealed mostly-empty hands.

"A special scoop," Sukea finally replied with a grin. “On my favorite muse, of course.”

Guy gracefully slipped off the swing, landing right in front of Sukea. “Your favorite muse?” Guy leaned in close, too close; his index finger and thumb scratched his chin, eyebrows raised inquisitively as he stared down the strange photographer. “And who might that be?”

Was he trying to be intimidating?

Cute. So, even Guy wasn't beyond a little healthy skepticism.

“Hm? Well…” Sukea took a step closer. Guy tensed, but Sukea simply reached up and patted his cheek with his free hand. “Dunno yet.”

Sukea’s fingers traced a short path along Guy’s jawline, lingering on his sharp cheekbone for a few seconds. Then, Sukea tugged gently, almost affectionately at Guy’s ear. “Oh. You have ears under there. Now that’s a scoop.”

Ears twitched and eyebrows quirked. It looked like Guy was barely holding in the urge to laugh. “Hey, those are a _secret_,” Guy joked, playfully shaking Sukea’s hand off.

Equally playful, Sukea winked. “That makes it an even bigger scoop.”

Guy fixed his hair back into place and cleared his throat. “That almost sounds like a challenge.”

A familiar excitement bubbled up in Sukea’s chest, and he almost forgot who he was and fell for that provocation. Instead, Sukea shrugged and gestured with his camera. “…A challenge? Of course, it’s not. I’m not about to challenge the green beast of Konoha. I told you. I’m just a freelance reporter. My shinobi days are behind me.”

“Ha! That’s a shame!” Sukea could hear the slightest hint of disbelief in Guy’s voice.

“It’s really not. Trust me, I’m a much better photographer than I was a ninja.”

Sukea hoped that would quell any questions Guy might have had, but, of course, it didn’t. “Is it more fun? Do you like it more?”

“Hmm?” Sukea hummed curiously. “Why? Considering following my example?”

Guy flashed a grin, hooking a thumb toward himself. “I’m very happy as I am! I’m a noble beast, a formidable jonin, a beloved teacher! And from the sounds of it, I might even be your favorite muse? And I’d hate to disappoint my dear fan by going soft now!”

“‘_Your dear fan’?”_ The purest hysterical laughter fell from his lips. Guy wasn’t even wrong, Kakashi loved this man, but as always, he was so painfully _corny_ with his jokes.

Guy took it well, as always. His self-confidence was bulletproof. He acted like making Sukea laugh was a victory in and of itself. “Of course! You seem quite enchanted by my charms, after all!”

He really was way too enchanted by this dork’s charms.

Sukea spotted a small group of Inuzuka dogs walking themselves past the park, and immediately fixated his attention on them to avoid having to acknowledge Guy’s fake flirting.

“I don’t know.” Sukea aimed his camera at menagerie of furry little shinobi. “The Leaf Village is an interesting place. There’s plenty of competition for you.”

He’d meant it as a way to egg Guy on, but Guy was always an optimist. “Of course, there is! I’d expect nothing less from my village! My dear friends and comrades all shine brightly with their own forms of youth and beauty and vigor!” Guy bragged, smugly enough that Sukea could hear the grin that was starting to stretch Guy lips. “Are we the best, most interesting village in all your travels to the east and west? Don’t you love it here?”

Sukea was impressed that Guy could keep a straight face through a question like that. He even had glowing praise for the village, and considering what this village had put Guy’s family, Kakashi’s family, and all their students and friends through… Kakashi had loyalty to the village, but love for it? “Most interesting? _Best_? Well…” His enthusiasm in return was a snort and words laced with sarcasm. He was far less verbose. “I don’t know if I’d go that far. It’s just another hidden village.”

“A village filled with people that bring it to life!” More dramatic posturing to punctuate his dramatic exclamations. “The village of the Will of Fire! There must be some reason you keep coming back! Something that’s caught your eye!”

Sukea tinkered with the settings of his camera. “Something,” he parroted. It probably wouldn’t help his case if he added, _Nothing top secret or war-starting. I’m not a spy, I’m just a man who’s hopelessly sentimental. You know me. Ease up already._

“Exactly, something! So, if it’s not the village itself, then what is it that you’re here to see?”

“Who knows?” Sukea shrugged, as it was obvious. “Whatever this village has for me to find.”

Guy sighed, directing his attention toward the camera and its _click, click, clicks_. “Well, what have you found so far?”

Sukea reached into his pocket, revealing a sizeable collection of developed photographs. “Want to see a few candid photos?”

There was a brief flash of suspicion in Guy’s eyes, gone so quickly that Sukea wouldn’t have noticed it if he didn’t know Guy so well. Outwardly, Guy answered with a simple nod and a grin as he accepted the photographs. A picture was worth a thousand words, and those would do more to prove Sukea’s relative innocence than a verbal answer could.

Sukea smiled amicably and took a few steps away, bringing his camera along with him, idly snapping away at other things that caught his attention while Guy trailed behind him, searching through the photographs. Occasionally, Sukea stopped to sneak glances at Guy whenever he let out an excited squeal or impressed hum. Sukea felt a tug at his heart as he watched Guy’s expressions change.

“These really are impressive! They’re beautiful!” Guy praised. And, of course, they were. Sukea was a genius, too. The photos were beautiful, exquisitely shot, each vividly colorful and well-lit. Pictures of Kurenai and Asuma, probably on secret dates. Pictures of the students laughing or training or having silly, childish fun. Pictures of other jonin in day-to-day life, being comfortable or happy or carefree, getting along, living, breathing.

Guy waited until Sukea was done, allowing the photographer to capture every last thing that he pleased. Then he threw his arm across Sukea’s shoulders, swinging him around and pulling him closer so that Sukea was forced to stoop a little as they walked. In typical Kakashi fashion, Sukea didn't fight the hold. “You’re _very_ stealthy,” Guy said, still wearing his little grin, going ahead and laughing a little laugh while he flicked to the next picture in the stack.

It wasn’t fully meant as a compliment, but Sukea chuckled along like it was. “Part of the job description.”

Guy let go of Sukea’s shoulders, patting him lightly on the arm instead. Guy accepted the excuse easily enough, nodding slowly in agreement. Maybe he was still processing the implication of the photographs and their targets. It probably was still a little suspicious in his eyes. Sukea was more or less sure he could talk his way around it.

“…Are you looking for snapshots of happiness?” Guy wondered aloud.

When he heard the strange, very Guy wording, Sukea couldn’t help but laugh again. It wasn’t mocking, it was more a brief bubbling up of surprise, escaping in the form of a warm, unexpected chuckle. “‘Snapshots of happiness’…?”

“Am I wrong?”

Sukea pretended to be distracted again, this time by the sound of chirping birds. They had apparently attracted a crowd of them during their talk. “I wouldn’t call them something quite that…”

“—Honest?” Guy supplied.

“_Corny_,” Sukea corrected, bringing up his camera to aim it at a shrike roosting proudly next to his latest kill. That reminded him, he still needed to get a proper photo of Guy training. Guy doing push-ups would make a good photograph. Guy was brave to the point of being stubborn, so he would be willing to do them over spikes again, like he needed the motivation. Sukea chuckled to himself at the thought.

“They’re stunning, though!” Guy declared loudly. Most of the other birds flew away and scattered, but the shrike refused to leave its dinner behind, even in the face of a screaming green beast. “I can practically feel the passion bleeding from every photograph! They must be something deep to you! There’s heart and soul and blood and sweat and tears in your work!”

“I wouldn’t really go that far.” A curious model, the shrike puffed out its feathers and flitted its little head in Sukea’s direction. Brown wings flickered with the slightest bit of impatience. “I just have a good eye for pretty things.”

“Is that it?” Guy sighed, looking disappointed.

“Yep,” Sukea lied cheerfully. As soon as Kakashi took the photo, the shrike seemed satisfied and started eating the finally-dead impaled cricket.

Honestly, Guy had Sukea pegged. Sukea snapped pictures of the parts of his world that he wanted to remember after they were gone. Asuma and Kurenai while they were still a happy couple, hopelessly in love and only nominally able to hide it. (It would be nice to have pictures of Kushina and Minato happy together. He hoped Asuma and Kurenai would both get to meet their own kids, at least. Maybe one day, Hinata would trail after Kurenai and protect her pregnant teacher the same way Kakashi trailed after Kushina, once.) Sakura and Naruto and Sasuke, the few times they all were together and being dumb kids, just having fun with their meaningless arguments. (Kakashi remembered his own team, of course, but his strongest memories of Obito and especially of Rin were bloody and violent and painful. Back then, it was war. They didn’t all make it to peacetime.) Anko and Genma having a dango eating competition at the loser’s expense. (Duy had challenged Sakumo to one of those, once. Sakumo felt so sorry for him that he offered to pay anyway. Kakashi thought that was dumb, at the time.) Neji and Lee’s rivalry pushing each other forward, Lee giving his all to every challenge and Neji pretending he was just annoyed by it all, even if it made him smile sometimes. (And wasn’t that familiar…) Even the places wouldn’t be around forever. The houses, the streets, their favorite restaurants…

Kakashi had learned the hard way how much the little things mattered in the end.

He just wished that he could have held onto his past a little while longer. One day, these days would be a thing of his past. Kakashi had a bad habit of outlasting the things he loved. But the memories still lived within him; they gave him strength and bravery when he needed it. A reason to keep on fighting for everything that was still good in this universe, somehow.

“…Will you keep taking snapshots of happiness from here?” Guy’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

Sukea rolled his eyes, ducking his head to hide his smile in his scarf. “If you stop calling them that, I _might_.”

“I don’t know what else to call them! These kinds of photos are so amazing! Just looking at them makes me feel grateful for the people of this village. They make me feel happy! I’ve fallen in love with this village all over again from looking at it through your eyes! It’s the magic of this sort of art, don’t you think? In fact, it really makes me think…” Guy trailed off, a pensive expression on his face as he returned the photographs to Sukea.

Sukea walked farther out across the grass, tilting his head up towards the sky curiously. “Think… what? Something on your mind now?”

“…I have a dear friend I’d want to show those to. A man who’s always looking back.”

Sukea made a hum of curiosity, and Guy took that as invitation to continue.

“I can’t pretend I know what you’re looking for, but personally, my greatest happiness would be seeing my friend smile and learn to love everything he still has. I just want to tell him… The world is beautiful. Even if you’re full of tears and sadness, open your eyes. Do what you want to do. Be what you want to be. Find friends. Cherish what you have, because we cherish you. Don’t be in a hurry to grow up. Take your time. A message like that might be better conveyed through visuals instead of words. Your skills may be well-suited for this! This may be just what I need to finally be heard by Kakashi, to reach his heart once and for all—”

Sukea took the opportunity to capture a sudden picture of Guy, and he made no effort to be discreet about it. Why should he? This was one of the moments when Kakashi would be pretending to ignore Guy’s overly passionate declarations, and on a whim, he wanted a picture of it now. Maybe one day he would admit that it was one of the things he loved the most about the man.

When Guy pouted at him, feigning annoyance, Sukea simply grinned. “No, go on, I’m listening,” Sukea insisted, holding back the urge to smirk. He didn’t want to give too much away, but it was interesting hearing Guy talk about Kakashi like he wasn’t right there. “So, you’re asking for my help, right? Your friend sounds like a pretty cool guy. He’s probably just not as sappy as you are.” Sukea teased, more than a little smug. “In fact, he sounds like he would make an even more interesting subject than you. Maybe he’ll be my favorite muse.”

“I wouldn’t say he’s more interesting than _me_,” Guy whined, indignant.

Sukea’s amusement was probably obvious on his face.

“And he’s not just my friend,” Guy added.

“Is that so?” Sukea arched an eyebrow. “What is he to you?”

“He’s my invaluable, irreplaceable, eternal rival. I think about how much I want him to be happy more than I can say.”

The way he said ‘rival’ made his heart flutter and the corners of his lips curl up. Something inside Sukea softened at the intimate tone of Guy’s words, breathed between them as gently as a sigh, like a secret, like that wasn’t something he screamed at the top of his lungs to the entire village anyway. As much as Sukea tried to keep himself aloof, it was impossible to resist Guy when he employed the cleverest of his charms— or worse, when he fell back on simple sincerity.

All Sukea could do was stare up at it in awe, thrilled with the chance to able to see such a brilliant smile up close, hear how Guy apparently talked about Kakashi when he wasn’t around –which was the same as the way he talked about Kakashi to his face, with the same smile and the same look in his eyes.

Kakashi was something of a romantic, enough that he’d fallen in love with Jiraiya’s romance novels, but he never thought he could be starry-eyed enough to think to himself that he’d heard an angel when Guy spoke. Yet here Sukea was, smiling like an idiot, mentally waxing poetic about Guy, of all people. Sukea ignored the underlying ache in Kakashi’s heart of what he recognized as longing.

He wanted to have something to remember that smile by. He wanted it engraved in a picture the way it was already engraved in his heart. “…Do you want them?” Sukea said casually.

Guy paused in the middle of his gushing diatribe about his eternal rival. “—What? Really?!” Dramatic as ever, he literally did a double-take. “You’d give away the fruits of your labor?”

"For you," Sukea answered, his mouth only just turning up at the corners as he held up the photos between his fingers, "of course I would.”

Guy laughed. “You’re so sweet! I’m practically a stranger to you!” He clearly thought he was being teased again.

“No, you aren’t.”

Guy looked at him, mouth dropping open with a protest already formed on his tongue. But then he really got a look at Sukea, expression soft-edged with _something_, and his teeth come together with a dissatisfied clack, biting back whatever words he'd meant to say. Even he was astonished by that uncharacteristic sincerity.

“Not to me,” Sukea finished vaguely, the farthest thing from clarification he could give. “I know you.”

He was decisive enough in his words that Guy could only blink at him in distant surprise, head tilting to one side and confused, uncertain laughter falling from his lips. “Do you?” he asked, like he expected a real answer.

“Besides,” Sukea continued, waving the photos around dismissively. “None of these would make me any money even if I sold them. They aren’t exactly breaking news stories. If you like them so much, you can take them and give them to your friend. I’m sure he’d appreciate them. You want to make him smile, don’t you?”

That got Guy’s attention. “I do. It’s my job as his rival to make him smile!”

As soon as Guy reached out to accept the offering, Sukea pulled them back out reach. “Not for free, though.”

Guy’s froze. “…Ah …Oh! I see! I get it now! You’re a pretty shrewd businessman…!” Guy grinned, and then laughed again, letting his earlier confusion melt away. He could make sense of Sukea’s kind words as some sort of marketing tactic. Guy’s gaze settled upon his face, looking him in the eyes with unflinching determination. “Very well! We all must do what we can to get by! I’m game! Name your price!”

Guy was lit up with the same fire that consumed him when he's was preparing for a challenge; for a moment, Sukea wondered if he should step back and make space for Guy.

He didn't. Kakashi’s pride wouldn’t allow for that.

“Don’t worry, I’m not asking for money. Instead, can I…?” The camera in Sukea’s hand must be enough explanation, because Guy nodded, jumped back, and struck a pose.

“That’s easy! How’s this?” Guy cycled through different dynamic poses, spinning and grinning and practically dancing.

Now that he was actually working with Sukea instead of against him, Guy was as graceful as ever, with his inky black tresses that followed his every move and deep affectionate eyes that sparkled as much as his teeth.

He was still a little ridiculous, but…

“You’re perfect.”

Sliding onto his knees, Sukea moved forward until Guy was angled above him. The camera’s settings only took a few seconds to fix, because he wasn’t experimenting; this time he knew exactly what he wanted. The button pressed down and Guy winced, clearly expecting a flash; but when nothing happened, he settled again, shoulders relaxing even further.

Sukea took more photos, heart pounding as he circled Guy carefully, playing with the light against his features. It was like a fun little dance between them, a game, a challenge.

“There. Finished,” Sukea said, camera lowered. “You can have the other pictures. In exchange, I’ll keep these. Sound fair?”

Guy froze again, his eyebrows going up. “You’re done already?”

Sukea held out the photographs, clearly making the offer again. “For now. I’ll get other chances. I haven’t had a hard time finding you so far. You stand out a bit.”

Guy accepted the compliment and the pictures, looking satisfied as he tucked them away into his vest. “Happy doing business with you, then! How did my pictures turn out? Did you take good ones?”

“Hm? Well…” Sukea shuffled through the photos on his camera roll. “That depends on whether or not I had a good model…”

Guy flashed a grin in his direction, hooking a thumb toward himself. “You did! I’m confident in that! I’m your favorite model, so I must be good! Otherwise, I couldn’t have caught the eye of a true professional.”

“You’re my _cockiest_ model,” Sukea answered. The taunt was met with only Guy’s prideful, infectious grin. Sukea reached over to give Guy a friendly back pat. “…But you are pretty cute.”

For a second, Guy held himself strung taut as a bowstring, the tension in his shoulders winding tight beneath the palm of Sukea’s hand. For the first time that evening they lost the rhythm of their half-playful little back-and-forth, and Guy, the green beast, seemed stunned to silence. Sukea couldn’t help but notice the pink flush rising in his cheeks, the crooked little smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. Guy wasn’t at all used to people openly agreeing with his self-compliments.

Sukea grinned, refocusing his camera to take another picture. The lighting worked really well, the composition was nice, and Guy was too distracted to hide that bashful expression. Quality picture of a quality Guy.

Guy just turned even redder.

“Maybe that’s the ‘something’ that I found here. A very cute model by the name of Might Guy,” Sukea deadpanned and then laughed, “Good enough answer for you?”

Guy shook his head and cleared his throat nervously. It looked like he finally found his voice again. “If it was anyone else saying that, I might not believe them. But I suppose I'll just have to accept the compliment! After all, it’s you! And you know me! Right, Sukea?” Guy was posturing, pulling a face, trying to sound cynical about it.

But Sukea did know Guy. That’s why he would never mistake the timid bit of happiness under Guy’s wary demeanor for anything but what it was.

He wondered what sort of face Kakashi should make later, when Guy gifted him with his own photographs. He’d pretend at surprise at least as well as Guy was currently pretending at aloofness.


End file.
